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Carbon Credits
The Voluntary Carbon Market: The Next Stage of Non-Structural Engineering

In the graphic above, the synergistic relationship between urban sources of carbon dioxide emissions and farms and ranches in the lower lying areas of the Houston-Galveston region, indicating the potential of carbon credits to provide non-structural flood protection. In fact, the practice of issuing carbon credits for the natural ecological functions of prairies, marshes and forests has the potential to be a major non-structural water supply and flood protection tool for the future. To date, non-structural alternatives have been focused on regulation or buyouts by either fee simple or easement conveyance. However, carbon credits provide payment to landowners for managing their land to optimize carbon drawdown without requiring the land to change hands or to be involuntarily restricted. By utilizing the voluntary carbon market, the rural economy of Texas and the United States can be maintained and enhanced while offering significant flood protection and water supply enhancements.

 

For more information, see the article below.

 “The Voluntary Carbon Market: The Next Stage of Non-Structural Engineering” by Jim Blackburn and Elizabeth Winston Jones. 

© 2025 SSPEED Center at Rice

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